Returning Step
Return To Home "It's definitely a good feeling to be back." Jason looked around the guild haven as he breathed in deep. "Seven years is too long to be away from this place." "This....this...this is the Guild Haven!" Nozomi seemed positively excited. "You told us so much about it when we were kids!" "You mean I will." Jason corrected her. It seems they'd have to adjust the tense of words with this whole past/future thing. "Can we get some food? I haven't eaten since later this afternoon." Time travel tense trouble; one of the biggest faults of time travel. Seika's stomach rumbled like the beats of time, echoing loudly. "There'll be food when we get to the Akatsuki building." Jason informed her, and they made their way towards probably the largest building in the area. As they got close, Jason looked at him, a feeling of familiarity washing over him as he opened the doors. He was quickly greeted with an uproar, not only from the people who were there purely for the bar — he had left Seireitou and Raian in charge, he'd expected some turnout — but from his guild members, all of whom had gotten to the building before he did. Hanako glanced around, surprised. "...It's bigger than I expected." She held herself back from saying a rather inappropriate joke as she immediately looked at the bar. "...Why isn't there a barmaid?" Even so, it all seemed too quiet... There was no enthusiastic shouting or fighting in the guild. Despite everyone being there, it was still...hollow. Empty, if one will. Suddenly, a loud cry of, "OHMYGOSH--" a series of unintelligible noises could be heard; booming throughout the hallways of the Akatsuki Guild as a certain hyperactive squirrel girl appeared right out of nowhere, tackling Jason to the ground. "I'm surprised you took so long we're like family we're supposed to stick together but we never disbanded we just took a seven year vacatiooooooooooon..." Interestingly, Iris had an eyepatch on her left eye. "What the...!?" Jason was caught by surprise as the hyperactive girl who tackled him straight to the polished wood floor. However, this kind of greeting made him flash a bit of a smile — much to the muttering of those in attendance. "It's great to see you again, Iri-...Iris, what happened to your eye, are you alright?" He sounded both concerned and perplexed. Considering it was Iris, who knows? Momoko came right the hell out of nowhere; grabbing Iris, demanding to know the reason that she had her eyepatch. "...Huh. The hell? How'd you get that?" "Shenanigans~" "....." It took Momoko to register such a stupid response. "...Oh, okay." "Momoko, that doesn't constitute an answer, don't just accept that." Jason barked, picking Iris up so he could stand up before setting her on the ground. "Seriously, you have my attention now, I can't say hello to anyone else until you tell me just what happened," Iris's ears perked up. "Oh, no...I lost my eye in a fight. It's no biggie! I can handle just fine without it!" She seemed so oddly cheerful about such a thing. "Y-you what?" Jason was a tad surprised at this. "How can you be so calm about losing an eye, when did this even happen!?" Iris kept up her smile. "It happened four years ago. A squirrel had gouged my eye out when we took from the same tree, and even though it took my eye...I won it's nuts. So it was worth it!" "I-I'm just going to buy that...." Jason sighed in exasperation. "We'll have Wendy or Chelia try and get your eye together, alright Iris?" Iris grinned maliciously as she took the eyepatch off. "Hihihihihihihihihi! I'm just joking~!" She certainly had a way with putting on a convincing act. Jason sighed as he walked further into his guild, heading over to where the bar was. "Oh, Seireitou. I take it watching the guild went easy?" Standing behind the bar was a thin, stringy man with dark black hair that seemed messy. He wore a simple outfit, that of a long-sleeved, collared shirt with suspenders and dark pants. He was polishing a glass and gave Jason a look that seemed to be far removed from where they were. "It was easy I suppose. Not what I'd like to spend my time doing, obviously, but, favours are favours." Momoko instinctively tagged after Jason, stomping her foot on the ground and asking, "We don't have time to waste. Even with our new powers, a lot has happened in the past seven years. As much as we've gotten stronger, our enemies have gotten stronger as well." "I'm very well aware of that." Jason waved this off. "However, they will not strike us within a day of making it back here if they have not struck in the past seven years. The Guild is finally reactivated; give everyone a day to relax, Momoko. We'll be business as usually tomorrow. Do you really think I've lost sight of the goal of Akatsuki?" "I do." A cold, female voice sounding from the side of the bar. A girl dressed in a tight leather outfit with a very large blade on her back, sheathed by cloth, glaring at Jason. The blue hair signified this was Mary Jane. "I don't remember you being so lackadaisical, Jason. We've spent seven years biding our time and gaining power, meanwhile, who knows what has been happening to Onē-chan! You're losing your edge, Master." The last word was spoken derisively. Mary had become quite....cold in the past seven years. Iris was shocked by the change in personality, personally stopping herself from slapping Mary. "You know that Viv would not like any form of rudeness towards fellow guild members. Calm yourself, will you?" Ironically, she herself sounded rather icy. "I will not remain calm until I have Onē-chan safe with me again." Mary snapped, her golden eyes piercing as she glared at Iris. Normally these two had been on such good terms before — well, Iris could make the denizens of Hell itself be her best friends if she tried — but Mary didn't seem to be in the mood to befriend anyway. Jason groaned, and Nozomi seemed to be a bit put off by this. Hephaestus had described the Akatsuki guild as full of friendly people — the place where he began to open up, even a little — but the way it was now....this blue-haired woman was awful. Jason suddenly felt something very soft collide with the back of his head and neck, as two long, pale white arms reached around his neck and an unfamiliar voice breathed into his ear. "Hello, sweetie." Jason actually jumped, the arms, as if by reflex, released him, and he turned to see a girl who appeared to be in her late teens, early adulthood. He immediately noticed the woman's large breasts (these were obviously what collided with his head and back), but it was the long blue hair that caught his attention next. "W-Wendy?!" He was a bit stunned. Wendy grinned, her new face brimming with a confidence Jason wouldn't have seen seven years ago. "Hey Jason. It's been awhile, but you don't look that much different." She walked over to him, kissing him full on the mouth, which elicited the expected reactions from the onlookers. "Seven years apart was definitely too long." Iris was surprised by such a bold act coming from Wendy of all people. "...Wait, when did everyone change so much!? This is tooooooooooooooooo much of a change!!!" She was freaking out by now- everyone had been changed so drastically and Iris herself was pretty much the same as she always was. "Iris, you're fine as you are, you brighten this place up." Jason sent that remark to reassure the girl. Wendy shot him a look, curious. "You're so...odd now. Jason would never pay anyone a compliment like that." She poked his forehead. "Are you some imposter? Did Jason die? ATTENTION EVERYONE, JASON'S BEEN KILLED, THIS IS A F-!" Jason placed a hand over her mouth. "Come off it, I've just learned to relax." Momoko sighed. "...So, everyone's said their hellos and stuff? Cause besides Vivian, everyone's here. Well, everyone that matters..." She cackled evilly; however, Momoko was interrupted by... "Hyaa!" She was kicked straight in the head as Chelia Blendy made her dynamic entry. "YOU FORGET ME!?" Momoko picked herself up. "...Ehh! I forgot that you existed..." "Chelia...!" Jason looked over at her in surprised before another pair of arms wrapped around his waist. As he looked down, he saw Gehaburn peering up at him and Wendy, looking slightly jealous. "Jason, you've been here so long and haven't even noticed me? If you're going to be so friendly with everyone, be friendly with me first, it's only right. I was here before everyone else." Technically, she was right, but Jason was more surprised that she was being so clingy. "Gehaburn, what's gotten into you?" "It's Blake now. Blake Tielmard. And I could honestly ask the same of you." Her leering eyes peered up at him from his waist. "Since when did you get so friendly?" Iris was just amazed by how many people had changed. "...Everyone's changed, and I'm still the same!? Ehhh!" She pouted in an adorable manner. "But, it's good to see everyone after so long. It's like a family reunion, except with less fighting and more embarrassing things~." "Seven years of being gone and everyone changes like this...." After at least another hour of everyone saying their hellos (and Jason being continuously smothered by at least Wendy and Blake), Jason caught a look at Seika and Hanako, both of whom looked impatient, Jason cleared his throat, which brought silence to the guild and bar attendees simultaneously. "Alright! It's great to be back here after seven years of living in a forest." He frowned at this. "I'm taking a mental note to never go back to Isengard, so just go with me on that. However, as of today, we have three new guild members!" "Three?" Wendy's eyes narrowed. Half the time they got new guild members, they were joining the harem and she had a very disturbing premonition that this was headed in that direction. "You three, come on up." Jason beckoned to the Hanako, Nozomi, and Seika. Hanako immedately marched up to Jason, turning around to look at the legions of mages before her. "...uh, I won't mince words. My name is Hanako Orikasa, and I am superior to every single one of you. Don't cry about it; just admit it. Look at how perfect I am. You all look like a foot compared to me. So rage hard." An evil grin was affixed upon her face as she said such words. "....I'm just putting it out there, I already dislike her." Wendy's eyes trailed to Hanako. So this was her new competition? Well, she was short, and definitely lacking in the upper body. She was pretty sure she had everything this Hanako didn't. "What about you two?" Jason looked at the girls. "Going to introduce yourselves?" Seika stood up, looking at at the masses. "...Uh, so. I don't know how to say this properly. But I'm a psychic pyrokinetic mage from the future." Nobody said a word. "Considering who else we have here, it's not that bad~" Iris heckled. "I'm also descended from Jason LaHote here." ... ... And the crowd of women went wild with fury. "Well, she's obviously also descended from me!" Blake seemed adamant on this. "She has my hair!" "You wish, I'd be willing to say she was Iris' before yours!" Wendy barked. Jason sighed. This girl...where did she get her troublemaker streak from, certainly not from him. "Everyone, be quiet!" Jason called over the crowd, and this did bring a temporary silence, though mutterings continued, and Jason could have sworn he'd heard Jonas collecting bets on exactly who was going to be bearing the first child. If that man wasn't a friend he wouldn't let him back in the bar. He gestured to Nozomi, who walked up as well. "I'm Nozomi Joysa!" She announced to the guild at large. "Seika's my cousin, and I specialise in Heavenly Body Magic." Jonas whistled, only to find himself muffled as someone dragged him under the general crowd. "I'm also descended from grandfather here!" And the looks on the faces of the general harem looked mutinous indeed. Hanako snarked in an absolutely emotionless tone, "Brace yourselves, a shitstorm's a brewin'." "B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-But that's impossible!" Momoko sketched a family tree in her notebook. "...That means...." "Maybe that spikey-haired jerk is the father~?" Iris joked. "Or it could be ....Cake!" "Cake? I do not see any..." Momoko looked around. Iris pointed at Blake. "Cake!" She suddenly pulled out a giant knife. "See, cake!" Blake looked at her incredulously. "How quickly we've forgotten how I beat you all into the ground seven years ago? I could do it again I'm sure!" Jason sighed. "Honestly, I'm not curious who they're descended from besides myself. The fact that I know they exist is dangerous knowledge of the future itself, I don't need to know any further information. The timeline is a fragile thing." Iris held her head. "Ouch..." Last time she had to think about the timeline, she almost died because of how complicated it was. "Either, way, nice to meet you!" She almost broke Seika's fragile figure in a hug. "We're not even an hour into the reunion and already we have more competition..." Wendy let out a dramatic sigh. "What am I going to do with all these newbies...?" Chelia rested her hand upon Wendy's shoulder. "We could haaaaaaaze them. Or we just deal with it, but that's no fun." She pouted. "Hey Jason!" Jason's ears caught the voice of Jonas, who seemed to be rubbing his head. Apparently a few people had beaten him into the ground, his blue and yellow hair rather frayed. "You have someone looking for you." Jason looked confused. "Looking for me...?" It couldn't be, right? Everyone was here. Maybe it was Gaikou, he hadn't seen her yet. "Where is this person?" "Right there." Jonas pointed down at Jason's side, and he looked down, surprised to see a small girl with black hair, dressed in a rather skimpy outfit looking up at him with a bright expression, her pointed ears twitching. Iris's heart fluttered. "Ohmygosh she is so ADORABLE!" She ran up to the girl, trying to grab her. The girl however, with a surprisingly light step, leapt into the air, jumping off of Iris' shoulder as she got close, effectively pushing her to the ground, and landing neatly on tip of Jason's shoulder. He could barely feel her weight, something that surprised him. The girl looked down at Iris. "Well aren't you fun. I suppose my magic healing you seven years ago wasn't exactly wasted." Iris nodded excitedly. "Yesh!" Her tail bobbed up and down in a manner so emblematic of her nature. Still, she tried to snatch the girl in a frenzy. 'C'mere, now! Hugs are good for you!" The girl stuck out her bare foot, and this kept Iris at bay as her head collided with it. "I'll pass on you. I am interested in your cute guild master however." Iris didn't seem to care about such things; in fact, she cheered, "The more, the merrier~!" Jason seemed a bit surprised at this. "Who are you, anyway?" The girl grinned as she looked down at Jason from his shoulder. "My name is Scylla, I'm an associate of Mr. E. We have hats." Iris' ears perked up. "...Are they pointy hats?" Her tail wagged like a dog's; as she leapt into the air- and into Jason's arms, trying to grab Scylla, clawing at her like a wild animal. "Gimme pointy hats I want pointy hats now!!" Jason immediately fell over from the Iris assault, which made Scylla fall of his shoulder as well. He groaned, standing up (Iris somehow still clinging to him, but her eyes intently on Scylla as if about to pounce), and straightened his hair. "So you're a friend of Mr. E...and joining Akatsuki because?" "I think it'll be fun." Scylla grinned. "Besides, you're cute, and the long hair you have definitely works now. I'm not letting you refuse me!" "I didn't really intend to." Jason was beginning to feel like the only sane man in a den of maniacs, and he caught sight of Wendy, who looked like she was fuming. Momoko straightened up. "Anyway, we're all here, no?" She was looking at her pocketwatch; noticing that it hadn't budged an inch since meeting up with the group. "Or...are we missing anyone?" Jason frowned. "I'm surprised we haven't seen Gaikou, or even Len...I wonder where they is?" "I also brought two extra people." Scylla grinned, and chuckled maliciously at Momoko's ticked off expression; arguably Wendy's was worse. "You two can enter now!" She called out to the door. A short-looking young girl with pink-hair and draconic features waltzed into the guild- her emerald eyes sweeped over the guild halls, "...Hmph. I'm not impressed. Diamond Dragon, is this what I have to live with? It appears so unclean- it makes me want to throw up." She stomped her foot on the ground angrily. Well...she made quite an entrance. A second girl followed, dressed in an outfit quite like Mary Jane's new attire — in fact, they gave each other acknowledging nods that all but said they knew each other. "I wouldn't say that. It's a pretty ritzy looking place. The man in the bucket hat was right, I already like it here." Iris questioned, "The man...in the hat...which is a bucket? Are you sure you're okay in the head, there?" She wandered over to Makoto, grabbing onto her long twintails. "Flappy-flaps? Why do you have aviation devices in your hair?" "G-get off me!" Makoto tried to pull her hair away from Iris; the girl held fast. Jason, however, rang a bell which immediately caught Iris' attention, and Makoto was able to slip out of this strange vice grip. "So you two are joining our guild?" Jason inquired and Makoto nodded. "That's right! I'd been looking for a guild for awhile, and some strange man in a hat and clogs directed me to this Guild." Momoko noted, "Notice how many guild members we have? It's more than enough to be equal to an army. At least there's no more pretty-boy clones with the quantity of a baseball team." "No, instead you seem to have quite a few girls recycled." Scylla chuckled. She turned to the guild at large. "Anyway! My name is Scylla, and I'm here to join this guild! I'm the Diamond Dragon, and I specialise in Diamond Dragon Magic." Seika raised her hand. "Just asking, how many dragon-related people ARE in this guild? Cause there seems to be a lot. Almost too many. I remember the dragons are pretty much extinct where I come from." "Well...funny you should say that..." Makoto chuckled nervously. "I'm the Crystal Dragon Slayer." Silence rang throughout the guild, which surprised Makoto. Being a Dragon Slayer usually got her a favourable response everywhere; would they turn her away on account of too many dragons? Seika applied her palm to her forehead in annoyance. "...Geez, dragons were extinct here, and now they're right, left, and center. Kinda dissapointing." "Extinct?" Scylla seemed confused. "Not at all. While quite a few of my species died centuries ago, there's a good hundred of us still alive. We simply don't all care enough for you humans to do much more than eat you." She licked her lips at the thought. "For the most part, we stay out of sight. Ever heard stories of sheep that go randomly missing from farms? Those are the dragons that feel compassion for humans, and thus, steal livestock and other forms of animals to eat. Others, like myself, were more inclined to devour humans. That would be where the stories of people who get lost in mountains and never return come from. I stopped after awhile, but I suppose I do miss the taste." "...Well, that's...certainly interesting." Seika was wierded out beyond belief. "Last time we heard a story similar to that one, Nozomi here couldn't sleep for weeks." True to Seika's word, Nozomi did look vaguely disturbed. Scylla grinned, but ignored them. "So, Jason, will you let us in your guild?" Jason, who seemed resigned to the fact that his guild now had the force of an army as Momoko had said, agreed. "Alright. I'm curious, what can you do?" He looked at the red-head. "You didn't even introduce yourself." The pink-haired girl crossed her arms haughtily. "Excuse yourself for such informal language around me! I am Elmenhilde Tepes, Heiress of the Tepes Faction of vampiric soverigns, ruler of the dark abyss, inheritor of the Dead Apostle Dragon! And you will never speak to me like that again. I am "master", not "you"." "You've got the wrong person kid." Jason's eyes, suddenly cold, flashed towards her. "I'm not the type of Guild Master that drops orders on my own guild, however, if you continue to have an attitude like that, you can turn around and walk out as haughtily as you came in." Elmenhilde scowled at him before her devillish cackle boomed throughout the halls of the guild. "Dohohohohohoho! We shall see, fleshbag. We shall see. Nobody disrespects me. Nobody!" Iris commented in a rare moment of snark, "She's like Gaikou, but louder..." "We still need to find her..." Jason frowned, seeming a bit perturbed by this. "However, today is a day of rest. Everyone, new members, old members, patrons, people who seem to live at their bar table—" Jonas snickered here "— relax, enjoy yourselves. Akatsuki has returned." Capture "So...this is the girl you went through such hell to capture?" A man in early adulthood with long blonde hair was standing in a darkened room, looking at a young woman encased in what appeared to be tendrils. It was Gaikou, and she was unconscious. "Alexis, why this one? Weren't there....better pieces of bait to use?" Alexis straightened her hat as an evil smirk crossed her face. "Why not this one? And besides, she seemed to be the weakest...and given her true heritage, this was the most pragmatic choice." "Her...?" The man frowned, his beautiful face not even marred by this. "I suppose if you want to attract them. But if your target is Jason himself, wouldn't taking Wendy have been a better choice? Or perhaps Iris herself? The lengths the guild would go to the protect that woman..." Alexis brushed her hair to the side. "That does not matter." Suddenly, her words took upon a more...serious...tone. "Listen here, and listen well, private. This "Gaikou Ryuusei" is naught but a fabricated identity. "Gaikou Ryuusei" is bastard child of a noble family privy to conspiracy secrets. Her real nature? Former heir of the Fiore Royal Line...Historia R. Fiore." The man didn't seem shocked at all. "Of course...." He smiled a bit. "I've been aware of this after I really started to do research over the past seven years...but to target the Royal Family so soon? You must be getting desperate." "Oho, there's a lot more to it, boy. She had rebelled against her family; hoping to escape their grasp and tyranical reign over the land. Her books, those numerous assorted papers that she published? They had subliminal messages written within them. Telling the people, not to let the royal family control their souls." Alexis smirked, as she withdrew a knife from her thigh garter. END